Modi pays homage to Amma in Chennai

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Chennai to attend Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa’s last rites. Several national leaders across the country have flown to the city to pay homage to the sixth time CM.

Not only political leaders and party members, mourners from different parts of Tamil Nadu are pouring into the city to get last glimpse of their popular leader. She was popularly known as ‘Amma’.

Jayalalithaa’s body of the AIADMK leader draped in the Tricolour, hs been kept at the Rajaji Hall, a British-era building in Chennai, where thousands of people paid homage to their chief minister who died at the age of 68 on Monday.

Thousands of policemen had formed chains to stop the mourning crowd from moving towards the raised platform on which Jayalalithaaa’s body, draped in her favourite green saree, was kept.

The state came to a halt, with only a countable number of shops opened and every few vehicles plied on the roads.

Security has been beefed up on the highways as lakhs of people from across the state are moving towards the state capital to pay last homage to the sixth time chief minister.

“Amma” will be cremated at iconic Marina beach, at the memorial site of her mentor and former chief minister MG Ramachandran.

The state government has declared a seven-day mourning period beginning from Tuesday. The next three days, which have been designated a public holiday in the state. The Centre also announced a day’s national mourning.